Hélène Alti-Diao

June 8th 2008

Age: 29
Nationality: Burkinabè, French
Occupation: Export function: customer service
In Amsterdam: 5 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
Love!!

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Cycling, going out with friends, eat appeltaart,
movies and parties.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
There are many different styles, from very casual to totally funky.
They dare to do more with colors than in France, but it isn’t
always very stylish; more provocative than anything else actually.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what? These can be emotional, cultural reasons
or practical reasons such as weather or availability.
Not that much, except that I always have an umbrella in my bag.
I do not mind wearing mini-skirts now, while in France people
are more conservative about showing their legs - and in
Burkina-Faso even more.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
Not really, although I am now totally addicted to cycling, and
convinced that if the whole world would cycle as much as people
do in Holland, we will not hear anymore about global warming...
Now I really consider my bike as part of myself.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I’m not surprised, Amsterdam is a great mix of people, that’s
what makes Amsterdam so special; very different from the
rest of Holland.